Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Selling Your Florida Home - What are you required to disclose to potential buyers?

Selling Your Florida Home - What are you required to disclose to potential buyers?

In Florida most sellers using a real estate agent provide buyers with a written seller property disclosure. Although the form is not required by law it does provide a basic set of answers to general questions a buyer should have about a property.

Questions on the seller property disclosure form include things like...

any existing or pending legal actions, claims, special assessments, etc.

any homeowner restrictions,

environmental issues like any lead paint or Chinese drywall, etc.

general topics such as water source, sewer or septic systems, equipment related questions, etc.

Florida law does require sellers and their agents to disclose to potential buyers of residential property all facts known to the seller which materially affect the value of the property, which are not readily observable and which are not known by the buyer.

The last question on this form is the one I consider the most important...

"Is there anything else that materially affects the value of the property? NO YES If yes, explain:......"

When I provide the questionnaire to sellers my instructions are simple - answer all questions that are asked.While buyers have a responsibility to perform due diligence a seller can't just put heir head in the sand and assume something does not exist if it should be disclosed.

Regarding the last question....

If you think something should be disclosed then disclose it as well.

If you were the buyer and would like to know this, disclose it as well.

If you are considering selling your Viera, Suntree or Rockledge Florida home, please give me a call if I can answer any of your questions or assist in any way.